1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a saddle-type vehicle including left and right frame members extending in a front-and-rear direction of the vehicle and a fuel tank supported by the frame members.
2. Description of Related Art
A typical saddle-type vehicle, such as a motorcycle, has left and right frame members extending from a head pipe toward the rear of the vehicle, a fuel tank placed on the frame members, and a saddle-type seat disposed behind the fuel tank.
A typical structure for attaching the fuel tank in a motorcycle of this type is disclosed in JP-A-6-234382. According to this structure, substantially U-shaped brackets (19) which are open to the front are fixed to the left and right side walls of the fuel tank. The left and right brackets (19) engage with positioning members (21) fixed to left and right frame members (20). Under this condition, the rear end of the fuel tank is secured to the frame members by bolts.
In the motorcycle of JP-A-6-234382, each of the positioning members (21) of the left and right frame members is sandwiched between an upper side (19a) and a lower side (19b) of the corresponding bracket (19) of the fuel tank. Thus, load in a vertical direction generated from a road surface expands the distance between the upper side (19a) and the lower side (19b). In extreme cases, the load causes deformation of the brackets. To overcome this drawback, a reinforcing material such as a patch can be added to the structure. In this case, however, the number of components increases and the cost rises.